Together in Harmony
by neuxue
Summary: Zuko and Katara try to figure out what to do about waterbender and earthbender children in the post-war Fire Nation. Toph provides innuendo. Written for Day 8 of Zutara Month 2012: Prejudice.


"Apparently there was a girl waterbending today, in the market," Zuko said one evening over dinner. "That's seven now."

"That we've heard about," Katara said. Since the end of the war, not even two years ago, there had been at first rumours and later knowledge of waterbenders and earthbenders born into Fire Nation families. It hadn't been uncommon in the colonies, but this was the capitol city, and things were different. Some mixed-nation families had moved back to the city after the end of the war, bringing children of elements other than Fire with them. Other children had been born in the sort time since the end of the war.

"That we've heard about," Zuko agreed. "We have to do something, we can't just have untrained benders growing up in the city."

"Chief Arnook sent a hawk. He wants all the waterbenders sent to one of the poles, to train with Pakku or Yugoda." She had written to both Water Tribes, to let them know that there were waterbenders growing up in the Fire Nation, and asking for advice.

Zuko shook his head. "No. They're Fire Nation, no matter what elements they bend. We can't just send them away."

"But they're waterbenders! They need to be taught. Same with the earthbenders."

"They do. But they need to be taught here. I'm not going to divide families just because of bending. That was my father's job, not mine."

"But so much of bending is the tradition of it. The culture. How can you teach waterbending to someone who has never even been on a boat, or seen ice? These kids learn all about Fire Nation history and Fire Nation traditions and fire and firebending in school, and then they're supposed to just go be waterbenders for a while?"

"Look, I know it sounds crazy," said Zuko, running a hand through his hair, "but things are different now. This isn't something we've had to deal with before. We can't separate families, and we can't just let earthbenders and waterbenders go untaught. Agni knows we could use healers and builders in this city."

"But then where do they belong? Once they've been trained, as waterbenders, or earthbenders, and they're still Fire Nation?"

Zuko raised his good eyebrow at her. "I think you can answer that better than I can, Fire Lady Katara."

Katara blushed, realising how absurd her question was, with a waterskin over her shoulder and a golden flame hairpiece in her hair. "It just seems strange, to teach the bending of an element without…everything else. Waterbenders grow up with ice, and water, and the Water Tribes."

"Learning to hate the Fire Nation."

Katara looked down at that. "What if we brought a waterbender here, from one of the Poles? Then we could set up a bending school, and the waterbenders could still learn bending, and some of our traditions, but they could stay in the Fire Nation."

"That's what I was thinking," Zuko said. "I'll ask Toph, we can do the same for the earthbenders. It shouldn't be hard to find an earthbending teacher. Maybe if they grow up as Fire Nation but they learn another element, and its traditions, it would help solidify the peace. They could act as ambassadors."

"Almost like the Avatar," Katara said, smirking when Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Sure. Except they won't have to try and save the world," he said dryly.

While they waited for Toph to arrive – she was off teaching metalbending in some remote corner of the Earth Kingdom – Katara went out almost every day, following up on names and whispers and rumours of waterbenders living in the city.

As Fire Lady and resident waterbending master, she had been the obvious choice to go find and talk to the young waterbenders and their families. She wore her mother's necklace and the golden flame in her hair, and while her clothes were styled in the fashion of Fire Nation royalty, they were the sea blue of her native Southern Water Tribe.

She spoke as waterbending master, telling some of the older children how to practice the basic forms until she could find them a teacher, explaining the fundamentals to the parents in the case of infants. She spoke as Fire Lady, promising to establish schools and accept all forms of bending in the spirit of peace. She spoke as Katara, doing her best to give hope and reassurances to parents that had lived in fear for their children under Ozai's reign.

Zuko had refused to go with her, despite her attempts to convince him. "They'll listen to you. They lived under Ozai, they have every reason to hate me."

"But you're not Ozai," she had said. "They should hear it from you directly. You're their Fire Lord."

Zuko had just shaken his head. "No. I tried to teach a boy how to use the dao swords once. When he saw me firebend, he told me he hated me. They'll listen to you; they won't have the same prejudice."

So she had gone alone. In just over a week she had found not seven but fifteen young waterbenders living in the city. She had done what she could for all of them, and sent hawks to both Water Tribes, asking for a teacher to come to the Fire Nation Capitol. Until then, she promised, she would return as often as she could to provide basic training.

Zuko sent messages to other nearby cities and towns asking about benders of other elements, and made it known by royal decree that all forms of bending would henceforth be accepted, taught, and welcomed within the Fire Nation.

Several more people sought out Katara, to tell her of a brother or a daughter or a nephew who was born a waterbender. Yugoda sent a hawk to say that three of the Northern Water Tribe's more promising waterbenders would be setting sail for the Fire Nation within the month. The palace staff stopped trying to persuade her to wear red.

When Toph finally arrived, Katara already had a list of over a dozen houses to call on, where she had heard there were earthbending children. She wanted to start right away, but Toph just laughed.

"Relax, Sugar Queen. We've got plenty of time. I haven't even had a chance to punch Sparky yet!"

So they spent the day at the palace instead, Toph sharing stories of her travels through the Earth Kingdom, Katara and Zuko filling her in on everything that had been happening in the Fire Nation. Iroh joined them for dinner – and tea, of course – and smiled as his nephew complained about how irritating the various nobles and officials were. Katara said he wasn't giving himself enough credit. Toph just punched him.

"Okay Sweetness," Toph said the next morning, "we can go find the earthbenders now. I don't think my feet can stand to be around you and Sparky any more."

"Hey!"

Toph shrugged. "I'm just saying. It was almost easier to stomach when you hated each other."

Katara balled her fists and considered punching Toph – it would serve her right – but she figured it would be unfair when Toph couldn't see it coming.

Toph smirked. "You know, you're pretty obvious when you want to punch someone."

"Oh am I?" Said Katara haughtily.

"Yep. You shift your feet, and your breathing changes. Not as much as it does when Sparky's around, but – hey!"

"Obvious, am I?" Katara said as Toph rubbed the back of her head. "Anyway, I think we should start with the Zhen family, they're not far from here," she said, looking at the list she had made.

"Is that paper? Katara, did you seriously make a_ list_?"

"So what if I did?"

"Did you make a schedule to go with it? I thought only Sokka made schedules." Toph laughed. "Must run in the family, I guess."

"It does _not_ run in the family. I did not make a schedule!"

"Whatever you say, Sugar Queen. Speaking of running in families though, were there ever firebenders born in the Water Tribes?" Toph asked.

"No! Why would there be?"

"Well…sailing around in boats must get boring sometimes," Toph said with a smirk. "Seems like occasionally you'd end up with mixed blood."

"No. We never had any firebenders." Katara tried to imagine a firebender living in the South Pole, surrounded by ice, and had to stifle a laugh. She would have to take Zuko to visit sometime. Gran Gran had been asking to meet him.

"Are waterbenders dominant, then?"

"_What?"_

"I mean is waterbending dominant. To firebending."

"You mean like…" there was _no way_ she was answering that question if Toph was asking what it sounded like she was asking.

"Well if you have one parent with waterbending ancestry, and one parent with firebending, which one would come out on top?"

Katara blushed, hoping Toph couldn't feel any change in her breathing. "Um, I'm not sure," she said, answering Toph's intended question. There was no way she was answering the implied one.

"Or a waterbender and a firebender, perhaps…" there was a smirk on Toph's face now.

"I don't know. I never really thought about it."

"Well you'd better think about it, Your Royal Sweetness."

"What are you talking about?"

Toph gave an innocent shrug. "Well I heard about Sparky's royal decree, but I'm not sure how the Fire Nation would take having a waterbender for Fire Lord."

Katara was utterly lost, and she had a feeling Toph was enjoying this far more than she should be. "Zuko's a firebender," she said.

"Yeah…but his kids might not be," said Toph with a wicked grin.

"I – you – " Katara began furiously, but Toph just laughed, and ducked again.

They walked past the central marketplace, where Toph insisted Katara show her around, so her feet could get a better look. Katara led her carefully around the far edge of the market, away from the tricksters and gamblers who called out to passersby to guess which shell had the stone underneath it. They weren't here to be distracted by scams.

When they turned down one of the quieter streets, Toph spoke up again.

"So, it's just earth and water, then? No airbending ancestry in the Fire Nation?"

Katara shook her head. "No," she said, a little sadly, thinking of Aang.

Toph muttered something under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Toph said, smirking once again.

"_What did you say?"_

Toph shrugged. "Just that Twinkletoes had better get busy."

Katara opened her mouth but then closed it again, too shocked to think of a reply. Toph's smile widened.

"But he's the Avatar," she said in mock-thoughtfulness, "so his kids could really be any element, couldn't they?"

"Toph, we are _not _having this conversation."

Toph ignored her. "And what if he were in the Avatar state?"

Katara's eyes widened in shock but this had gone far enough. "I don't know," she said sweetly, "why don't you go find out?"

"Okay, if you find out about steambender babies, then we have a deal," Toph said, holding out a hand to shake.

"S_teambenders?" _Katara couldn't believe this girl had once tried to teach _her_ manners.

"Yeah! We could make whole new schools of bending! Steambenders, Mudbenders…"

"Mudbenders?" Katara asked, momentarily confused. Then, "TOPH. YOU ARE NOT HAVING MY BROTHER'S CHILDREN."


End file.
